Please refer to the attached file.
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1176th meeting held on 29 September 2023 dedicated to the AU’s engagement with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on post-Malabo Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference: Translating Pledges into Reality.
The Peace and Security Council:
Recalling AU’s previous decisions and pronouncements on humanitarian actions in Africa, in particular, Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.604(XXVI)], adopted by the 26th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, held from 30-31 January 2016, in Addis Ababa; and Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.856(XXXVI)] of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the union, held from 18-19 February 2023, in Addis Ababa, which adopted the Statute of the African Humanitarian Agency (AfHA);
Also recalling the declaration [Ext/Assembly/AU/Decl.(XV)] of the 15th Extraordinary African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference adopted in May 2022; and Cognizant of the commitments made by the AU and its Member States at the 15th Extraordinary African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference and the 2019 Global Refugee Forum and progress in fulfilling those pledges;
Further recalling its previous decisions on humanitarian actions, in particular, the Communiqué [PSC/AHG/COMM.1043 (2021)] adopted at its 1043rd meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government held on 29 October 2021 and Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1025 (2021)] adopted at its 1025th meeting, held on 25 August 2021;
Noting the opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Churchil Ewumbue-Monono, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for the month of September 2023, and the presentation made by the H.E. Ambassador Minata Samate Cessouma, AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, read on her behalf by the Director for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development;
Also noting the Presentations by the representatives of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the UN Office to the AU (UNOAU), as well as the statements made by the Representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and AMANI Africa;
Reaffirming the importance of ensuring compliance with theGlobal Compact on Refugees (GCR) as a critical framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations needs international cooperation; and
Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:
1. Expresses deep concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in parts of the Continent, including the increasing number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) due to conflict, violence, and adverse effects of climate change, surpassing 28 million, and the rising number of refugees and asylum seekers in Africa, exceeding 7.5 million; and also expresses deep concern over the increased number of populations in need for humanitarian assistance mainly due to increase of conflicts in the continent; in this regard, emphasizes the need to enhance efforts to silence the guns in Africa, in line with the AU Master Roadmap to Silence the Guns in Africa, providing the overarching objective guiding the efforts of the organization towards achieving a peaceful and secure Africa;
2. Expresses support for the AU principles of non-indifference and African solidarity founded in the principles of Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism, which makes, which requires that the organization cannot be a bystander on humanitarian crises in the Continent;
3. Expresses sincere condolences and solidarity to the people and Government of the Kingdom of Morocco over the devastating earthquake and the State of Libya over the catastrophic floods and wishes a speedy recovery for those injured; and alsoexpresses solidarity with all refugees and IDPs on the Continent and affirms its unwavering commitment to redouble efforts towards mobilizing humanitarian aid in order to alleviate their suffering***;***
4. Expresses concern over the impact of unilateral sanctions in worsening the socio-economic conditions in countries that are already experiencing dire humanitarian situations; further expresses concern over the escalation of violations of international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks against civilians, attacks on public infrastructure, camps hosting IDPs and obstacles to humanitarian access; calls for accountability for those responsible for such violations and opening up of the protection and humanitarian spaces;
5. Calls on the Member States and the broader international community to increase humanitarian support for affected populations in Africa, in particular women and children, including the protection and assistance of refugees and displaced populations; and underscores the need for the international community and partners to enhance the provision of adequate, flexible, predictable and consistent funding for humanitarian action in Africa including, in particular, to those countries and communities hosting large numbers of refugees for protracted periods in Africa, based on the UNHCR's registration of these populations and sensitization on the misappropriation of humanitarian aid as a tool for their protection and strategic priorities of UNHCR and the continent;
6. Welcomes the progress made by the Member States, AU Commission and partners in addressing the humanitarian challenges in the Continent, in line with the Declaration [Ext/Assembly/AU/Decl.(XV)] of the 15th Extraordinary African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference adopted in May 2022 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea; in this vein, expresses appreciation to the Member States and partners who made and honoured their commitments at the Malabo Summitand appeals to Member States to generously contribute to the AU Special Emergencies Fund and encourages all Member States and partners who pledged support during the AU Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference to expeditiously redeem their pledges; further encourages the strengthening of partnerships with development organisations, International Financial Institutions and other Mechanisms within the UN, such as the Office of the Special Advisor on Displacement, the Office of the Adviser on Charter Change and the Office of the Famine Prevention Coordinator;
7. Acknowledges the efforts by the Member States and support by the humanitarian actors and development partners in alleviating suffering and supporting humanitarian action in conflict-affected areas through voluntary repatriation, local integration, localisation, resilience building and access to basic services in host communities; and looks forward to the upcoming Global Refugee Forum to take place in December 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland; in this respect, urges generous and actionable pledges from the Member States and the international community, including matching pledges concerning refugees, forcibly displaced and stateless persons in Africa; and calls on AU Member States to formulate a pan-African commitment to be presented at the Forum, towards the implementation of pledges and initiatives announced since 2019, as well as exploring the possibility of support from the global UN Common Pledge for inclusion of refugees in national systems;
8. Commends the AU Commission's leadership on humanitarian issues, particularly in the implementation of the post-Malabo 10-year plan of action; requests the AU Commission to spearhead efforts for an all-Africa mega pledge, inspired by the post-Malabo 10-year plan of Action in the following areas: Addressing Humanitarian challenges in Africa; Climate Change, Disasters, and Forced Displacement in Africa; Food Security and Nutrition in Humanitarian Situations in Africa; Health Challenges in Humanitarian Space in Africa; Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development for refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa; and Resource Mobilization and Financing for Humanitarian Action in Africa;
9. Calls on the AU Commission to accelerate the finalization of the governing structures of the Emergency Fund for humanitarian crises to enable its utilization and also accelerate the establishment of a Humanitarian Support Index, to monitor and assess the contributions of AU Member states and partners in addressing the growing humanitarian crises and hosting of refugees in Africa;
10. Reiterates its call for the AU Commission to expedite the operationalization of the African Humanitarian Agency (AfHA) by 2024-2025, and ensure it is adequately resourced to enable it to discharge its strategic mandate and to respond effectively and swiftly to humanitarian crisis situations and the needs of the Continent; In this connection, ***calls on ***the AU Commission to communicate detailed and comprehensive information about the needs and requirement of the Agency’s operationalisation to partners and further requests the AU Commission to explore the possibilities of establishing a Humanitarian Platform within the African Diplomatic community in Addis Ababa based on the experience of the other existing models such as the Platform on Children in Armed Conflicts;
11. Underscores* the urgent need to address underlying drivers of forced displacement and humanitarian crises and develop a post-Malabo toolkit based on solidarity, Humanitarian Support Index, humanitarian diplomacy, and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus; in this regard, directs the AU Commission to undertake a study within available resources on the cooperation between the AU and the UNHCR in addressing the challenges of humanitarian crises in Africa to be submitted during the 55th anniversary of this cooperation in 2024;
12. Encourages Member States that have not yet signed or ratified the 1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugees in Africa and the 2009 Convention on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, to consider doing so at their earliest convenience and to ensure compliance with Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law standards; and
13. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Posted by Abraham Kebede